The present invention is directed to kitchen appliances for cooking foodstuff and, more particularly, to a deep fryer or other similar cooking apparatus that enables a user to quickly and conveniently selectively attach and/or remove an enclosure of the deep dryer such that liquid used to cook the foodstuff can be contained therein or poured therefrom once cooking of the foodstuff is complete.
Deep fryers are a relatively common household or restaurant appliance that are used to cook or fry foodstuff, typically chicken breasts, turkey breasts, French fries or other foodstuff that is desired to be fried. A typical deep fryer includes a housing which holds the cooking oil or other liquid to be heated, a basket which is placed inside the housing and which holds the foodstuff to be cooked and a lid pivotally mounted to the housing. A heating coil, located inside the deep fryer, heats the liquid to a desired temperature to cook the foodstuff within the basket.
When cooking is complete, the user initially desires to remove the cooked foodstuff from within the deep fryer. Eventually, the user desires to conveniently and properly dispose of the liquid or cooking oil used to cook the foodstuff. However, given the greasy, slippery and/or grimy nature of the liquid, attempting to dispose of the cooking oil to eventually clean and store the deep fryer can create an inconvenience for the user. In conventional deep fryers, a pivotally mounted lid can create an obstacle to quickly and conveniently disposing of the liquid. Specifically, when tilting the deep fryer to dispose of the liquid inside, the hingedly mounted lid may either undesirably swing to a closed position, in which the liquid is unpredictably redirected over different edge portions of the deep fryer, or the lid may sporadically move/swing when tilting the deep fryer, in which the lid creates a visual obstruction to the user. Therefore, it would be desirable to create a deep fryer having a lid that is completely removably such that the lid can be set aside or away from the deep fryer when the user decides to drain and/or pour the liquid from within the deep fryer to a drain or another container.
When moving, repositioning or relocating a deep fryer that contains liquid or cooking oil, it is important that the deep fryer is constructed to completely enclose the liquid or cooking oil therein to prevent a user from inadvertently spilling some of the liquid to outside the deep fryer. The hingedly mounted lids of prior art deep fryers do not include structure that allows the user to reliably secure and/or lock the lid to the container of the deep fryer. Therefore, it would be desirable to create a lid of a deep fryer that has a reliable securing and/or locking mechanism which allows the user to selectively secure and/or remove the lid to a container of the deep fryer to prevent inadvertent spilling of liquid or cooking oil.
Further, conventional deep fryers often come with several components or pieces that fit together, such as the lid, housing and basket. Typically, it is the user's responsibility to properly position the components together before cooking the foodstuff. However, this can create an inconvenience for the user if the assembly is not straightforward or simple. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a deep fryer with a lid that includes structure that assures that the lid is properly secured to the container before the deep fryer is used for cooking.